Believe it or not, we’ve already had this debate. In December 2007, we hashed it out and decided on “Priora.” But a TTAC reader wishes to reopen that can of worms (castigat ridendo mores). So here goes… “I had Latin in high school, so when I saw TTAC having the plural of Prius as Priora, my pedantry went on instant alert. While I admit, a priora, that it sounds good, it isn’t right. Actually prius is an adverb, so it can’t have a plural. But the related noun form is prior, prioris, 3rd declension. According to my Bennett’s New Latin Grammar (CR:1956), the plural of liquid stem (ending in -l or -r) 3rd declension nouns is -es (that’s a long e, with a bar over it). So it should be Priores.” Personally, go sum rex Romanus et supra grammaticam. Your thoughts?
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Priuses. Duh.
That or Prii.
Q: What The Plural of Prius?
A: A plethora of overrated, underpowered, overweight, too-expensive-to-manufacture, ill-handling Japanese crapmobiles.
Okay, it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but that’s not uncommon for scientifically-correct descriptions…
Congestion.
In the automotive context, Prius is a proper noun (because it’s a name) that’s been stolen by the English language (and probably a few others.) So all this fooling around with Latin grammar is a bit silly. It ought to be treated like any other English proper noun, which would make it Priuses. That’s what the Associated Press uses, and since they set the journalistic standards for that sort of thing (via their AP Stylebook) I’d be inclined to follow their lead.
I think TheRealAutoGuy got it…don’t forget when these cars die-off…whose water table will they be buried in?
It’s a brand name, not a Latin term. Priuses. What’s the plural of Focus, as in Ford — Foci? No, Focuses.
Phil
Priuses or Prii here, too. Priora is too pretentious even for the Prius driver.
Ugh.
another vote for TheRealAutoGuy. to its list of -er- accomplishments, add the nasty unergonomic videogame console toyota fobbed you off with should you buy one of those repulsive machines.
Prius isn’t necessarily an adverb. It can also be the nominative or accusative singular of the comparative adjective prior or the nominative or accusative singular of a third declension noun. In any case, the word is neuter, not masculine or feminine. Priores is the masculine or feminine nominative plural. Priora is the nominative (or accusative) neuter plural.
The plural for Prius is “Priapism”.
(look it up on merriamwebster.com)
douche-baggage?
a plethora of priora?
How about just “Prius”; e.g.,
There is a long line of Prius doing 40 in the left lane.
Could it be that the marketing oracles at Toyota purposely put an “s” at the end of the name so as to cultivate these kind of discussions?
It must be an interesting job coming up with names that evoke certain desired reactions in people without actually having to follow any of those literary rules enforced with such an iron fist back in school.
Shouldn’t that be “Ego sum rex Romanorum”?
While Priuses would seemingly be correct, only drivers of the “powder blue” color holding 3lb Chihuahuas with limp wrists would sound right saying it. I personally vote for Prii, and yes, I do say Foci when referring to more than one Ford Focus.
+1 for Pruises…
Wow, some real Prius hatred here. I understand the “I don’t like car X for reasons Y and Z” sentiment, but some of the comments above are just a bit unbecoming. I’ve never said such mean things about cars that waste gas sitting at traffic lights. Hey, it’s your money and I respect that.
I will admit however, to a little frustration that some of you SUV and large sedan owners take your sweet old time once that light turns green, you’re scary-slow getting up to speed on the freeway onramps, and some of you even STOP at the end of the ramp! You also seem to like changing lanes without using your turn signals before driving slowly in the left lane on the highway.
Oh, oops…did I just generalize? I guess I did. Well, there you have it. I see bad drivers all the time. Some in Pri-fill-in-the-blank, some in Accords, some in Exploders or F-150s or minivans, and others in Hummers.
Back to the subject before (hehe) us. As a Prius owner, I have no real vested interest in one plural form over another. Hehe, I only plan to own one at a time anyhow. :)
Okay, I kind of liked Priora. It’s easier to enunciate than the stuttery “PriusES” or “Prii” (I’m assuming the latter would be pronounced “pre-eye, the reverse of Hawaii (“Haw-eye-ee”)) or the singularly confusing “Prius”. But if you don’t like Priora, I guess you could always use Prium or Pria.
I wonder, has anybody contacted Toyota to ask them what they use internally?
I wonder, has anybody contacted Toyota to ask them what they use internally?
You mean to keep their shit from stinking? I don’t think it works that way.
Shouldn’t that be “Ego sum rex Romanorum”?
Well, I had Latin in high school too (here in the Netherlands) and I don’t think it should.
If memmory serves me right, Romanorum would be the plural genitivus and that wouldn’t make sense.
However, it’s been a few years since and it used to be my worst subject back then already, so don’t take my word for it.
On the subject of the Prius, Priora would be ok as a plural if you would consider ‘Prius’ a noun and further assume that as it has no soul being a Toyota and all and has no reproductive organs, it’s neuter.
If you would consider it to be masculine (euh…right) than it would be prii. If you would consider it to be feminine (which would be weird) it would have had to be cold Pria from the beginning, with the plural being Priae.
@JJ
Well, it’s been a long time since I took Latin too, but I was thinking “rex Romanorum” = “king of the Romans”. I think you’re right about Priora.
If Toyota makes a decision, we are sort of stuck with it. It’s a name. I bet one of you can figure out a word or name that is the same in two languages. Only the person giving the name really knows what is intended.
Until then (assuming Toyota hasn’t already stated something), latin is fine. I can’t remember my latin, though I still have fond memories of Cicero and Boethius. I am sure for a donation, the ministers, teachers and professors at my old High School would be happy to do a professional translation.
This is ‘merica damn it. It’s Priuses. The people who say otherwise are pussii or pussoria.
it’s a positively plentiful plethora of pedestrian, purposefully pedantic prii.
…driven by pricks.
For what it’s worth, Ed LaRocque, Toyota National Manager of Advanced Technology Vehicles, says this: “The correct [plural] form is whatever our customers want it to be. You can say “Prius.” You can say “Priuses.” You can say “Priis”. We love watching the chatter and the comments that we’re seeing on the websites. From Toyota’s standpoint, there really is no right way for the Prius to be announced.”
Well, whatever. The linguist in me wants to confirm the Latin plural, but the American in me doesn’t want to walk upstairs and get my grammar book. I really hope I never hear anyone say Priis!
EDIT: Someone already posted Ed LaRocque’s response on the previous thread. Oh well.
Smuggli.
Well language is not a static thing. You do need rules and conventions, but general usage eventually pretty much determines what something is in language. For good reason, if you use a version no one understands you are not communicating with other people. Since language is primarily for communication, whats works toward that end is proper.
95% of the general American English speaking public will say Priuses, with maybe 4.9% of the others saying Prii. The other .1% or less are going to have people asking them what the heck they are talking about.
I had Latin in high school as well and I have done a bit of research for my own curiosity. Some have mentioned that it is a proper noun in our use and the plural should be “Priuses”. That is correct.
Technically, the most likely candidate for the plural for the Latin term “prius” is “priora” or “priores”. From a Boston Globe article:
So I put the question to Harry Mount, author of the new book “Carpe Diem,” a paean to the joys of Latin.
“Yes, it’s Priora,” he told me, “because it’s neuter plural. But if you cheated a bit and made the car masculine or feminine – and I do think of cars as female – then it would be Priores. And Priores has nice undertones of grandness – Virgil used it to mean ‘forefathers’ or ‘ancestors.’ “
Link: http://tinyurl.com/76ocjc
“Prii” should not be used. Replacing the “-us” with “-i” only works if the preceding letter is a consonant. In this case, it is a vowel. For instance, the word “fungus” has a plural “fungi”.
Prii is bad, but anyone who says uni, as in university, is worse. I hear that one all the time.
The news: “A six-acre lot full of Prii!”
The audience: “The hell is pree?”
I like Priuses, but am flexible.
New Year Resolution for TTAC:
A Style Guide.
Like ‘The Economist’ has.
Please include usage for ‘Craptastic’. I think many are using it incorrectly.
Shouldn’t the plural of Toyota Prius be Toyotas Prius?
Um…I was the reader who started this barfight.
My source for prius being an adverb is Cassell’s Latin-English Dictionary CR about 1925 or so (someone else can supply the A.U.C. date, which is since the founding of Rome :))….it means “formerly”, as in “He formerly batted .500”.
That is the only listing for prius. While it does end in -us, that does NOT automatically make it a second declension masculine noun.
Cassell’s is also the source for the related noun being prior.
But this is just text reference plus the faint echoes of memory from my 5 years of high school Latin in the ’60’s.
Sure it doesn’t mean squat. But then we seem to have gotten (and this is *another* barfight) not much of any means squat. It’s all just words, without any particular necessary meaning. And yet, pi is still 3.14 and not 3….I think.
Another favorite car name is the “Grand Prix”…which should either the “Gran Prix” and the “Grand Prize”….OTOH, how about “Gran Prize”?
2 cents for the first 5 people who can correctly supply what the “0” in GTO is in Italian and what it stands for. Hint: It has nothing to do with male same-sex affection.
Stewart, who had the immense good fortune to grow up with two Bugattis and a Maserati when they didn’t cost much……….
Having a lot of fun…this is a public barfight and anyone can join in! But please, clean and fair punches…….
Omologato is the word you’re after but there’s nothing wrong with grand prix, monsieur. You wouldn’t want the petit prix.
People can’t even say Porsche, Cayanne, Touareg, Scirocco & Tuscan correctly. Why argue this?
Dictionaries are descriptive not prosciptive.
So sayeth the editors of the OED.
Language, especially English, is constantly evolving.
So, pick your plural and run with it.
Yes, what a fantastic idea, porschespeed. I mean, it’s not like simply making up words and using whatever forms you want is confusing, incorrect, and counterproductive or anything. Nope.
TexasAg03: It’s not a matter of it having a consonant. It’s a matter of what declension the noun or adjective is and its grammatical gender.
The plural form of “Prius” is an obscure Sanskrit term which loosely translates to “boneyard of unwanted used golf carts with dead battery packs”.
TexasAg03: It’s not a matter of it having a consonant. It’s a matter of what declension the noun or adjective is and its grammatical gender.
True, but I can’t think of a Latin word where you find the “-ii” ending. Besides, I was trying to not delve into declensions and such. I wish I had taken more Latin in college.
According to this table the year 9 of the Christian Era (a/k/a A.D. or the Common Era) was 762 A.U.C. (Ab Urbe Condita “from the founding of the City (Rome)”). Therefor, today is 1 January 2762 A.U.C.
what the “0″ in GTO is in Italian and what it stands for[?]
Gran Turismo Omologato which may be translated as Grand Touring Homologated, or homologated by the FIA for inclusion in the grand touring class of automobiles.
Actually there wasn’t a single soul at GM who spoke a word of Italian. Ferrari had built a model designated “250 GTO” in 1962 which won the GT championship in 1962, 63 and 64. So Pontiac ripped off the name for its big engine option package on the Tempest LeMans.
Orangutan,
Hate to break it to you, but that’s the evolution of language. This is why English is considered a “living” language. Don’t take my word for it, I had an extended conversation with Nunberg (sp?) back when he was at Stanford about this subject (language, not car plurals).
Do I agree with the results? Not always. For shizzle my nizzle…
I think you’re missing the point of my post. We all talk this thing to death and sooner or later we will pick one that seems to work. There will be a preferred term, but not necessarily only one.
Dictionaries are filled with words that mean many things. Some words have meanings that are all over the board. Take ‘sanction’ and run with it.
Unless you want to have a council of official word okey-dokeying (like the French) learn to deal with the fact that one of the few truly democratic processes in the English language IS the English language.
Dictionaries report the results of the popular usage ‘vote’.
I’m firmly with porschespeed on this one.
The most fascinating branch of linguistics, to me, is diachronic linguistics. While “diachronic (or historical) linguistics” usually refers to the study of how a particular language has evolved from an earlier form (say, how Classical Latin evolved from Proto-Indo-European), I prefer the other side: studying how language changes presently. It’s much more exciting, because the changes can be observed in real time, throughout one’s life. And while prescriptivism has its place (style guides and such for formal writing), I find it much more interesting to observe the abnormalities of “wrong” English (or of any language) and try to explain why they occur.
Priusen
@ RF
Seeing as TTAC have allowed this;
it’s a positively plentiful plethora of pedestrian, purposefully pedantic prii. …driven by pricks.
I think you should have an “Ask The B&B” for the collective noun of suburbs and suburbs of Truck owners.
I suggest NAMBLA.
2 ugly ducklings
It sounds best to me if the plural of Prius is Pria. So there.
My source for prius being an adverb is Cassell’s Latin-English Dictionary CR about 1925 or so (someone else can supply the A.U.C. date, which is since the founding of Rome :))….it means “formerly”, as in “He formerly batted .500″. That is the only listing for prius. While it does end in -us, that does NOT automatically make it a second declension masculine noun.
The problem with this assessment is that in the context of the Toyota car, “Prius” is a proper noun in English, not an adverb in Latin.
The pluralization should follow English-language rules for nouns. Typically, a singular noun ending in “s” is made plural by adding “es” to the end, e.g. “Charles” would become “Charleses.” That means that “Prius” should become “Priuses.”
Not that it matters for me. I won’t be buying one, anyway.
It’s Priuses.
It’s a noun and technically a trade name, so the Latin roots are disregarded. Agreed with whoever gave “Focuses” as the example.
As has been stated, although the origin of the word is (apparently) a Latin adverb, the context is that of a proper English noun. It then becomes a question of what’s the best way for the word to be understood when trying to convey multiples.
Although rather inefficient because of the double use of two syllables ending with the consonant ‘s’ (meaning that it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue), ‘Priuses’ (like ‘Focuses’) would be the most acceptable form.
However, I would imagine that other, more pedantic, affected derivatives, such as Prius, Pria, Prii, or the aforementioned Priora, will likely end up being just as acceptable, simply because they are easier to say and/or write.
My guess will be that if someone wants to simply say a multiple of Prius in the simplest, most direct, easiest understood way possible, they’ll use Priuses.
OTOH, if they want the writing to be witty or florid (which is often the case on TTAC), one of the other forms will be used.
The best thing about seeing one of the non-‘Priuses’ forms is that at least it will be unlikely to see the word ‘hoon’ used in the same passage…
“What The Plural of Prius?”
Suburban
(Expedition or Sequoia also acceptable)